According to HELLA, a supplier of automotive lighting and electronic systems, LED lighting technology will significantly change the look and feel of automotive interiors in years to come.

Dr. Herbert Wambsganss, director of engineering, HELLA Interior Lighting Systems, thought that ambient LED lighting will open an entirely new chapter in automotive interior design."Drivers will see significant changes in automotive interior lighting within the next five years -- changes that will improve comfort levels and enhance brand awareness."

HELLA predicts that the use of ambient LED lighting in North America will more than quadruple over the next five years. "LED lighting technology provides designers with another important way to add value and improve the overall driving experience," the HELLA executive pointed out. "It's a key new ingredient in the interior design equation."

Drivers today spend an average of up to four hours a day in their cars or light trucks, while commercial-vehicle owners spend even more time on the road. LED lighting technology opens up a wide variety of opportunities for auto makers to strengthen brand awareness with new interior design features, while improving customer satisfaction levels at the same time.

Wambsganss pointed out that LEDs offer auto makers a variety of design options, including single-color lighting to reinforce brand identity and multiple colors to customize and create "mood" lighting. Because LEDs take up less space and use less energy, they offer weight, energy and packaging benefits as well.

Different colors have been found to provide a range of emotional responses such as excitement and feelings of calm, which in turn has generated interest in RGB (Red-Green-Blue) technology for use in automotive interiors, Wambsganss said, adding that RGB technology is becoming increasingly popular for interior lighting applications, providing an almost infinite number of choices within a wide color spectrum by the controlled blending of the three primary LED colors.

HELLA's RGB/LIN technology achieves exact color and intensity control with HELLA's proprietary LED module calibration, promoting perfect harmony throughout a vehicle's interior. In addition, the company's technology allows designers to place unique colors at specific locations throughout a car's interior to further extend brand-design themes.

Specific LED interior lighting applications offered by HELLA include multi-color LED modules, RGB/LIN control with color-control, fabric backlighting that highlights patterns contained within cloth construction, LED overhead consoles and slim-line LED interior lighting.

HELLA provides application engineering support for its interior-lighting customers at product development centers in Plymouth, Mich., and Guadalajara, Mexico. Its production facilities in Mexico will support a growing demand for interior-lighting products throughout the Americas.